STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — The Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust has awarded Norman Rockwell Museum a grant of $75,000 toward designing and building a new front stone entranceway to the museum.

The grant contributes to a much larger funding effort for the project. Built more than 22 years ago, the 1,400 square-foot bluestone terrace serves as the public gateway to the Museum and its galleries. More than three million visitors have used the terrace entry since the museum opened its new campus in 1993, and today it needs to be replaced.

"We are immensely grateful to the Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Trust for their generosity in helping us build a new front stone entranceway plaza," said Norman Rockwell Museum Director/CEO, Laurie Norton Moffatt. "Jane and Jack were dear friends of Norman Rockwell; they loved and helped found this Museum. The large outdoor foyer serves as a natural gathering place for our visitors, who enjoy our beautiful campus gardens, trees, and greenways as much as our art. The continuing generosity of the Fitzpatrick family will ensure that this new gateway plaza is made to welcome hundreds of thousands more visitors in the future."

The museum began pursuing design ideas and funding for this major effort last winter. Construction will begin in the early spring of 2016 and continue through the summer.

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